Honolulu Hawaii – Tips For Travellers Podcast 224

Pen Tolman says:

Another great podcast! It allowed me to refresh fond memories of our first trip to the islands of Hawai’i last month that was a combination land-sea vacation. I’ve been listening to you for some time and appreciate the depth of content in your podcasts.

We spent 5 days on the Big Island prior to our 11-day cruise with RCL’s Radiance of the Seas which embarked out of the Port of Honolulu. I would like to add a few humble thoughts to add to your TFT for those who have a limited amount of time in Honolulu.

Try not to feel that you have to see everything in the short time you have. We were going to do this until a seasoned-traveler friend suggested that the experience will be like seeing something 50 yards away while driving down the road at 50 miles an hour. With only a day and a half to enjoy Oahu, my husband and I decided to heed that caution and limited ourselves to simply enjoying a few highlights of this island: Pearl Harbor, “Old” Waikiki Beach, and a trip to Leonard’s Bakery for some delicious Malasadas.

You don’t have to visit all the sites at Pearl Harbor. However, you should AT LEAST experience the Arizona Memorial. Most people still are not aware that you do not have to purchase a tour to see this Memorial but getting tickets are a must, especially if you have a group of 3 or more people, and they can be reserved in advance up to three months prior to your visit through http://www.recreation.gov.

We didn’t stay at a hotel along Waikiki Beach and opted for a little more savings by booking a cute boutique hotel a little further away called Coconut Waikiki. We had a great view of the mountains and the Ala Wai Canal while still being a comfortable walking distance to Kalakaua Avenue where you will find a multitude of shopping options (think Las Vegas Boulevard or Michigan Mile). We ate at a fabulous restaurant, Hula Grill, tucked away behind the Outrigger Waikiki Beach Hotel where we found the perfect place to people-watch the beach crowd below from their lanai balcony during dinner and Mai Tai cocktails.

Last, though not the least, A short stint in Honolulu is not complete without a taste of malasadas, from the iconic Leonard’s Bakery which has been there since the 50’s. At least, that was what we were told and so we made an excursion of it by arriving promptly at 5:30am when their doors opened. We waited patiently in line (yes, there was already a line) for our turn to order and wait again for our box of these Portugese donuts to come out of the back as they were made to order. OMG! Let’s just say you had to be there.

Again, thanks so much for the podcasts and look forward to hearing more!